going to try a H.Magnifica

[SNAKEMANVET]

My lfs got one in a few days ago,he is willing to hold it for a couple of weeks.I went by and checked it out.He said it hasn't deflated much since arriveing.When I seen it,it was attached to a piece of liverock,mouth was closed tight and the tentecles were a little deflated/not much.Just hope it is still doing good when I go to pick it up next week.

 

[82ndengineer]

How's the color and what lighting are they keeping it under?

 

[b0bab0ey]

Ritteri is probably my all-time fav anemone, but IME they are very hit or miss. IMO, it all comes down to how healthy the specimen is when you get it. Try to place it near the top, in a high flow area. And don't be stingy with the supplemental feedings. You'll know you're doing right by it when it outgrows your tank. Good luck!

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

It has a purple foot with grayish brown tentecles with white tips.It's under a 150 watt halide in a frag tank,it's approximately 12'' from the anemone.If the anemone is doing good at time of purchase I will buy the rock it is attached to,to help keep from causeing more stress than necessary.The spot I have picked out to place in my dt is about 6'' from water surface and will be about 13'' from the light.

 

[ct_vol]

Ritteri is probably my all-time fav anemone, but IME they are very hit or miss. IMO, it all comes down to how healthy the specimen is when you get it.

I agree... Watch it in the LFS for a while to make sure it is healthy... I won't buy an anemone unless it has been at an LFS for 3 weeks minimum... I have had good luck with my 3 ritteris following this rule of thumb... Good luck!

 

[82ndengineer]

That's a real good idea to buy the rock with it. When I got mine from a fellow reefer he mangled it getting off the rock and I had to do a lot of work to get it back to health. But I did and just recently mine split so good luck with yours and hope it does well for you.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thanks engineer,I have kept lta's and rbtas for several years with no problems,just now getting my nerve up to try a mag,my tank is 75 gallon rimless with 2 mp40's in sync on reefcrest mode,they are running around 75%, 2 250 watt de 14k about 10'' from water surface,and all sps corals are doing great.

 

[D-Nak]

Thanks engineer,I have kept lta's and rbtas for several years with no problems,just now getting my nerve up to try a mag,my tank is 75 gallon rimless with 2 mp40's in sync on reefcrest mode,they are running around 75%, 2 250 watt de 14k about 10'' from water surface,and all sps corals are doing great.

Since you have MP40s, if you have the foam covers handy, I suggest putting them on temporarily, until the mag has settled in. Mags have a tendency to wander until they are happy, and moving up the tank wall is common. They also like a lot of flow, so they are prone to walking right into powerheads.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thanks for the info D-Nak.You have a nice mag on your avatar

 

[OrionN]

Thanks for the info D-Nak.You have a nice mag on your avatar

That is a Gigantea on his Avatar (on 12/4/2012)
I guess he can change is Avatar at a later time

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thanks OrionN,I really didn't look at in detail,all I saw was a great lookin anemone.

 

[M Woodhill]

Ah, i really dont wanna say this that possibly kills your enthusiasm. but i've tried almost all the anemones and ritteri really brought me a bunch of troubles:

1, rbta & gbta, 1 casualty outa many and they stayed put. but my occ found no way to accept it

2, sebae, no casualty outa 4. but my occ never gave em an f, u know what i mean

3, gig, no casualty outa 3, but they really ate fish. but i had to admit those eaten fish were unhealthy

4, ritteri, first one--self exile into some place in the tank and disappeared. sure died and dismembered

second, stayed put for a while then floated like a jellyfish and sure, sliced itself by huggin a powerhead. i saved the major piece but it didnt make it

third, this one did survived for almost 3 months. but my tank just underwent a major reaquascapin. now its mouth opened wider. no other bad signs so far tho

 

[OrionN]

I think I agree with M Woodhill that Magnifica is likely to be harder to keep than Gigantea. They, Magnifica, get unhappy very easy while I think once Gigantea got established, It can tolerate much more tank swing condition. Both are fragile shipper but it is much harder to find a healthy Gigantea.
Good luck as what ever you decided to do.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thanks M Woodhill, you didn't kill my enthusiam.I am going to try my luck with one.I have been doing alot of reading about mags and it seems alot will travel around to find a good spot.Hope yours recovers from the aquascapeing.

 

[M Woodhill]

Thanks M Woodhill, you didn't kill my enthusiam.I am going to try my luck with one.I have been doing alot of reading about mags and it seems alot will travel around to find a good spot.Hope yours recovers from the aquascapeing.

well, i actually really did too much to the tank recently:

first i shut down all the filters except the skimmer to kill dinos. the phos readin soared up to 0.25

then i added sand. the water became milk for like an hour or two

then i reaquascaped. i'd like to share some pix tomorrow

this weekend i'll convert the entire system into full zeo. finger cross me plz, pals. i need support.

 

[D-Nak]

On the flipside, mags reproduce by splitting, so I've seen a few local reefers have them for sale. The likelihood of you finding a healthy mag from a fellow reefer is a lot higher than finding a gig, since they don't reproduce in captivity.

IME, mags are happy so long as you keep your tank stable enough for SPS. My mag was always happy and never moved. I picked it up from a reefer who actually had two. Here's a photo of it before I replaced it with a gig:

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Great pic D-Nak,My tank is mostly sps,they have good color and growth.This is why I would try a mag since my tank is stable,I do a 5 gallon water change every week.

 

[zeeter]

I had a mag for around a year before I sold it along with a couple of percs. The biggest problem I had with it was that it wouldn't stay put. The lighting was good - ATI 6-bulb with Geissemans and ATI bulbs. Corals were growing well. Yet the mag always seemed to want to plant itself on the front glass.

They are grabbers, too. Eventually I had to wear rubber gloves when working in the tank because if I got to near it and maybe brushed up against it the mag would literally grab my forearm. For me it didn't sting but it left me with a nice, itchy rash for a couple of days.

 

[garygb]

I've had one just over 11 years now and another 6 years, in that time they have cloned a couple of times. I would agree, they're not the easiest anemones to keep, but once established, they're pretty hardy. Mine haven't given me problems wandering around the tank except when the water quality takes a dip. If nitrates go up, they will begin to shift around on their rocks. As far as conditions, I find that they like t-5 lighting best, but many report success with MH and I think some people have been doing fine with LEDs. I keep the temp. around 80-82F, specific gravity 1.025-1.027, try to keep nitrates undetectable. I have generally kept them alone, or on occasion with either BTAs or Epicystis crucifer. I felt my BTAs didn't look as good with the mag, but the mags didn't seem affected. I didn't notice any effect one way or the other with the E. crucifer.

As others have said, getting a healthy one to begin with is the biggest challenge. I've always kept mine with either percs or ocellaris, and mags are magnets for either species. I expect if you have ocellaris or percs your fish will go directly to them. Perhaps if you have clowns that are already associating with another type of anemone, they won't be as quick to abandon their current host.

 

[garygb]

I've had one just over 11 years now and another 6 years, in that time they have cloned a couple of times. I would agree, they're not the easiest anemones to keep, but once established, they're pretty hardy. Mine haven't given me problems wandering around the tank except when the water quality takes a dip. If nitrates go up, they will begin to shift around on their rocks. As far as conditions, I find that they like t-5 lighting best, but many report success with MH and I think some people have been doing fine with LEDs. I keep the temp. around 80-82F, specific gravity 1.025-1.027, try to keep nitrates undetectable. I have generally kept them alone, or on occasion with either BTAs or Epicystis crucifer. I felt my BTAs didn't look as good with the mag, but the mags didn't seem affected. I didn't notice any effect one way or the other with the E. crucifer.

As others have said, getting a healthy one to begin with is the biggest challenge. I've always kept mine with either percs or ocellaris, and mags are magnets for either species. I expect if you have ocellaris or percs your fish will go directly to them. Perhaps if you have clowns that are already associating with another type of anemone, they won't be as quick to abandon their current host.